Vacuum atomizer



@QL 393g A. L. SWENGEL if/'5,675

VACUUM ATOMI ZER Filed May 25, 1938 Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITE STATES ATENT OFFiCE VACUUM ATOMIZER 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a device for atomizing liquid fuel that may gather upon the inner wall of the intake conduit of an internal combustion engine between the carburetor and the intake manifold. In an internal combustion engine, such as an automobile engine, there is a tendency for the fuel leaving the carburetor to settle upon the walls of the conduit, as the air currents traveling around the butterfly have a tendency to force the heavy particles of gasoline against the wall of the lower part of the carburetor below the butterfly and also the wall of the intake manifold just below the carburetor. Liquid also condenses on the buttery valve and is thrown off in drops which tend to lodge on the conduit walls. This liquid fuel does not readily become mixed with the air supplied, and it is the function of the present invention to bring the liquid fuel that normally floods down the manifold walls and also that portion of gasoline tossed off the butterfly, out into the stream of mixed fuel and air and atomize it.

The present invention contemplates a simple mechanical device which utilizes the stream of 25 mixed air and fuel to create a steady vacuum which tends to draw the liquid fuel away from the wall of the conduit. The invention further contemplates a device of this character which breaks up the liquid fuel and atomizes it so as to improve the mixture of fuel and air being fed to the engine. The device is adapted to be inserted in the fuel supply conduit between the carburetor and the engine. At present I nd the most satisfactory location on a down draft fuel suply line to be between the butterfly valve and the intake manifold.

The features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood, however, that the drawing and description are illustrative only, and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation of a down draft carburetor and fuel supply line for` an internal combustion engine, showing my improved device mounted in the base of the carburetor at the point where it connects with the intake manifold;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through the fuel supply line at the junction of the carburetor with the intake manifold and illustrating a slightly diiferent style of mounting;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View through a portion of the atomizer showing the construction thereof;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a heat gasket adapted to be inserted between the carburetor and the intake manifold, the heat gasket having my irnproved atomizer mounted therein.

Referring now to the drawing, the present invention is shown as applied to the intake fuel line of an automobile engine having a down draft carburetor 5, the carburetor 5 having a conduit 5 forming an extension which connects with the intake manifold of the engine. The conduit contains the usual butterfly valve 8 for controlling the supply of mixed air and gasoline to the engine. The usual type of construction in a device of this character includes a ange S on the'conduit and a flange Iii on the intake manifold. These two flanges are bolted together by a plurality of bolts l and usually have a gasket l2 interposed between them. The thickness of this gasket may, of course, be varied. In some cases it is a thick gasket of heat insulating material to prevent the transfer of heat from the intake manifold to the conduit The present invention comprises a vacuum atomizer wihch is so constructed that it can be inserted in the base of the carburetor conduit t below the butterfly valve or it may be inserted in. the upper part of the manifold l, as shown in Fig. 2. An alternate manner of mounting is shown in Fig. 5, where the vacuum atomizer is inserted in the conventional type of heat gasket i3. At present I find the most satisfactory location for the vacuum atomizer is in the heat gasket. It is pressed into the heat gasket and is held therein tightly enough to remain in place by frictional engagement with the gasket itself.

The vacuum atomizer comprises two rings i4 and l5. The rings are made of any suitable material such as brass, aluminum, copper or rustless steel. If desirable, the rings can be made of spring steel, using the tension of the steel to hold the rings in place. Preferably I use a material about .006 inch thick. The ring l5 is corrugated and is made from a material approximately T35 wide. The ring I4 has its edges curved outwardly so as to form asmooth curved interior throat and an exterior trough. The ring I6 is wider than the ring I5, being preferably Tse wide, and the curvature of the edges is such as to form a trough about 11s deep at top and bottom.

In one form of the invention, the ring I5 is formed from a strip of metal and the strip has its ends I6 and I1 curved to interlock, as shown in Fig. 3 so that they may be snapped together around the ring I4. The ring I4 is desirably made from a strip so that the curved shape thereof can be more readily controlled. The ends of the strip are then bent up and secured together, as shown at I8. Where the structure from which the rings are made is of spring material, the ends of the ring I4 may be merely pushed together and they will be held by the tension of the ring I5, which is placed around the ring I4. The corrugations of the ring I5 have been exaggerated in size in the drawing. It is preferable to make them rather small so that when the ring I5 is placed around the ring I4 and placed within the conduit or the intake manifold or the gasket I3, there are provided about twelve tubular passages to the inch.

In the mounting of the atomizer in a heat gasket, as shown in Fig. 5, the ring assembly is merely pressed into the heat gasket and the friction is sufficient to hold it in place. However, when it is desired to secure the ring assembly in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I provide the corrugated ring I5 with a series of fingers I 9. These fingers are secured in the corrugations of the ring I5 and have flattened portions 20 adapted to be clamped between the conduit G and the intake manifold '1.

In operation, the rush of air and gasoline through the center opening of the ring I4 causes a substantial vacuum on the down draft side 2| of the atomizer. This causes each of the spaces between corrugations in the ring I5 to act as an individual tube. The throat formed by the ring I4 acts to produce a vacuum in the area adjacent the bottom edge 22. The result is to draw any liquid fuel through the tubes and across the bottom edge 22 of the ring I4. Thus each tube acts as a vacuum atomizer to catch the liquid gasoline that normally ows down the manifold walls and mix it with the air to form a more combustible fuel. Drops of liquid gasoline that are thrown off the butterfly valve 8 are intercepted and broken up by this device. The inturned edge 23 at the top of the ring I4 provides a trough 24 above the ring I5 to catch the liquid gasoline and distribute it more equally in the tubes formed by the corrugations.

This simple two ring construction offers a minimum of obstruction in the fuel line, as the rings do not extend inward from the walls over approximately M3. The individual tubes of ring I5 and the curved edges of ring I4 combine to break up the heavy particles of gasoline and mix them intimately with the stream of air and gasoline that is going through the narrow throat formed by the ring I4. This improved mixture of gasoline and air substantially improves the engine performance. It is particularly noticeable in improving the idling performance of the engine, its pick-up and its smoothness in operation. The application of this device to an engine has resulted in higher smoother vacuum in practically all installations. Increased power, economy and performance have been uniformly obtained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An atomizer and liquid fuel interceptor adapted to be inserted in the fuel intake conduit of an internal combustion engine between the carburetor and the engine, said atomizer comprising an annular element curved to provide a trough on its exterior and a smooth curving throat at the interior and means in said trough extending out to engage the wall of the conduit for dividing the annular space between said ring and the conduit wall into a multiplicity of narrow passages extending parallel to the conduit wall.

2.- An atomizer and liquid f'uel interceptor adapted to be inserted in the fuel intake conduit of an internal combustion engine between the carburetor and the engine, said atomizer comprising an annular element curved to provide a trough on its exterior and a smooth curving throat at the interior and means in said trough extending out to engage the wall of the conduit for dividing the annular space between said ring and the conduit wall into a multiplicity of narrow passages extending parallel to the conduit wall, said means being substantially narrower than the trough whereby the outwardly directed side edges of the annular member are spaced from the ends of said passages.

3. Means for removing liquid fuel from the inner wall of the intake conduit of the fuel line of an internal combustion engine between the carburetor and the engine, said means comprising a ring structure insertable in said conduit, said ring structure comprising a corrugated member fitting closely against the conduit wall and a trough member inside said corrugated member, said corrugated member and trough member cooperating with the conduit wall to form a plurality of narrow passages parallel to the conduit wall, said trough member having its edges turned out, whereby to overlap the corrugations in said corrugated member, the interior surface of said trough member providing a smooth, curved throat.

4. An atomizer unit for insertion in the fuel intake conduit of an automobile engine between the carburetor and the engine, said atomizer comprising a ring consisting of a metallic band having its side edges curved outwardly to provide a smooth, curved throat, the external diameter of said band being slightly less than the internal diameter of the fuel conduit, and a second annular element encircling said band and dividing the space between the band and the wall of the conduit into a plurality of narrow passages extending parallel to the conduit wall, said second annular element being narrower than the band whereby the side edges of the band are turned out over the ends of the passages so as to partially block them.

ALBERT L. SWENGEL. 

